Unified Interior Regions

Trace amounts of pesticides or volative organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in ground water sampled from public-supply wells in Salt Lake Valley if the age of the sampled water was less than about 50 years, according to a report recently released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A 5-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey on the occurrence and distribution of trace elements and synthetic organic compounds in sediment and fish from the Great Salt Lake Basin area of Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming found that trace elements were elevated in areas affected by historic mining, and organic compounds were highest at sites with urban and agricultural land use.

America’s rivers and streams are generally suitable for irrigation, supplying drinking water, and home and recreational uses. However, in areas with significant agricultural and urban development, the quality of our nation’s water resources has been degraded by contaminants such as pesticides, nutrients, and gasoline-related compounds.

America’s rivers and streams are generally suitable for irrigation, supplying drinking water, and home and recreational uses. However, in areas with significant agricultural and urban development, the quality of our nation’s water resources has been degraded by contaminants such as pesticides, nutrients, and gasoline-related compounds.

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly article written by U.S. Geological Survey Yellowstone Volcano Observatory scientists and colleagues. This week's article is about monitoring the geysers in the Norris Geyser Basin.

Included this month:

Hurricane Isabel Makes Her Mark on the North Carolina Coast

Mayans in the Everglades?

Submerged Ice Bridge Reveals Ancient Secrets About Alaska

America’s Deepest Coral Reef

Young Tortises on Mojave’s Menu

Measuring Floods From A Distance

Is the World’s Fuel Tank on Empty?

Not long ago, conventional wisdom was that you couldn’t predict the climate for more than a few days in advance. Then came the awareness of El Niño and La Niña and the forecast window increased to as much as 6 to 9 months, depending on the region and season.

The USGS has just completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in five geologic basins in the Rocky Mountain region. The assessed basins are: Uinta-Piceance of Colorado and Utah, Southwestern Wyoming (Greater Green River Basin), San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Colorado, Montana Thrust Belt, and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana.

The USGS has just completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in five geologic basins in the Rocky Mountain region.

May 14, 2001 – The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), Yellowstone National Park and the University of Utah have signed an agreement to establish the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory to strengthen long-term monitoring of earthquakes and the slumbering volcano beneath Yellowstone National Park. 

Federal, state and local policy makers will gather in Casper, Wyoming, on May 9-10 to examine science issues associated with the development of coalbed methane. The two-day conference and field trip, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), will examine a number of topics including: what is coalbed methane, how it forms, where it occurs, how it is developed, and consequences of development.